


Ninth Wish

by Evageline520



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fantasy, M/M, NineTailedFox!Au, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 12:22:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6116319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evageline520/pseuds/Evageline520
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Legend has it that nine tailed fox is the most powerful being to ever exist.</p>
<p>Each wish it grants, one tail grows, until it reaches nine tails.</p>
<p>The ninth tail is the hardest to attain.</p>
<p>But also the most powerful.</p>
<p>Despite its powers, there is one thing the nine tailed fox cannot control.</p>
<p>Life and Death.</p>
<p>What happens when it tries to defy its fate for one man?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ninth Wish

Chapter 1

“Sir!” The man in question directed his attention to the soft squeal of the young girl who is running towards the tree he was sitting under. Her perfectly aligned pigtails bobbled as she bounced her way to where he was.

When their gazes met at the same eye level, the girl let out uneven puffs of breath from the exercise, but nonetheless her eyes shined bright as she continued, “May I please look at your cat?” As if out of reflex, the animal in the man’s lap let out a loud whine.

The owner chuckled in a deep, smoothing voice.

The girl’s eyes became even rounder at the sound of the man’s laugh but the hopeful shine in her eyes dimmed slightly as she considered the possible rejection. However, that only lasted for a moment before it burned with compassion again, expressing the girl’s determination.

As if sensing the girl’s thoughts, the owner smiled gently and gestured at the animal, “Dear, my baby is not a cat, he is a fox.”

The little girl’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape before reaching out her hand hesitantly, placing it in front of the fox as a sign of peace. “I’m sorry foxy, Mina didn’t know! Mina was just so excited to see a ca… fox with nine tails!” The owner smiled again at the child’s stutter before nudging the animal in his lap slightly.

Mina swore the fox just rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue, but even that sounded abnormal in the young child’s mind.

That’s too human. Far too human.

Her attention on that small detail was short lived as the fox lapped at her hand, accepting her apology. Eyes disappearing with the force of Mina’s toothy smile, the child patted the pet’s head gently, letting out little gasps of joy as the fox leaned back into her touch.

“But Sir! How come foxy has nine tails?” The child tilted her head and stared at the man curiously with two fingers supporting her chin.

“That is because my little pet here is a magical being, he is a nine tailed fox.”

“Nine tailed fox? What is that?” Mina’s eyebrows creased together as her small face scrunch up in confusion.“Would you like you hear the story of the nine tailed fox?” The child nodded eagerly at the man’s response. Patting the shaded spot next to him, the owner gestured for the child to sit next to him.

“Long time ago, there was a cub who accidentally came upon a magical fruit. Without a second thought, he ate it.

As time passes, the fox noticed that he has long lived past the average life span of his kind. He was also able to hear and interpret the words of humans that past by his forest. As mischievous as he was, the fox began learning and practicing the human language, along with the humane things that came with it.

In no time, the fox mastered the speech and actions of humans. He became more intelligent and performed actions that were deemed miracles. He travelled from town to town, searching for a purpose with his newfound skills.

Until one day, he met a man with a request.

The man was a merchant, he was young and successful, owned a house and had his own horses. People were jealous of him, for he lacked nothing in life. That, however, was not the case. The merchant was lonely, but he couldn’t find a partner who treated him as he was without considering his wealth.

Nightly, the merchant prayed, wishing for a companion.

The fox who overheard the man’s prays took his request into consideration and visited every household in the town at night, eavesdropping into intimate conversation between young ladies.

Two weeks later, the fox led the merchant to the household of a young sewer. The fox brought the man a hand written letter by holding the object in his mouth and dropping it in front of the merchant. It was an unsent confession from the sewer, seemingly taken from her diary as indicated by the ‘Dear Diary’ in the top corner.

The merchant recalled the numerous times the shy and beautiful sewer helped him when he was still poor. He gathered the courage and asked for the girl’s hand in marriage and found his companion.

As the fox fulfilled the merchant’s wish, light shone upon his form and when the blinding shine subsided, the fox discovered a second tail attached next to his original one.

The more wishes he fulfilled, the more tails he gained.

When he reached his eighth tail, however, his tails stopped growing no matter how many wishes he attended to.”

“Oh no! What is that foxy going to do now?” Mina interrupted with tears in her eyes, her whole feature vibrant with concern. The owner allowed himself to pat the young girl on the head before continuing, “Don’t worry dear, the foxy has found the right owner for his ninth wish.”

The fox in his lap snorted at the comment, but attached himself closer to his owner.

“But how-“ “Mina!” A lady waved to the young girl from the pathway near the tree they were resting on, her blue sleeves fluttering from the wind. “Mother! I’m coming!” The man watched as the young girl bowed regretfully and gave the fox one last longing stare before running towards the lady dressed in blue.

“She liked you.” The owner patted each of the fox’s nine tails as he chuckled. “Shut up. I don’t like brats with grubby hands.” The fox grunted despite the smile never leaving his face since Mina’s arrival.

“Of co-“ The man’s face grew increasingly pale as he coughed violently. Coughing petals of blood.

The animal in his lap sensed his owner’s change and stood up abruptly. In the blink of an eye, instead of the fox, a young man with exotic features knelt next to the man.

“Ming-”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“London bridge is falling down~ Falling down~ Falling down~” Wriggling his butt to the rhythm of the nursery rhyme, a cub was dangling dangerously by a branch in the tree. Caught in his own amusement, the cub failed to notice the loud howling of a starving wolf until it approached the tree he was on.

“Oh hi there Mr Wolf!” Swinging on his branch, the fox mused. The wolf growled in response, leaving more saliva in its trail.

“Looks like you’re a little bit hungry there.” More swinging.

The wolf’s stomach let out a loud whine in confirmation, followed by more howling from the wolf. “But I’m not ready to become dinner! This foxy ain’t falling down, falling down, fallin-“ A loud snap echoed as the cub stared wide eyed at the branch that detached itself from the tree.

“Waaaaa!” The cub shut his eyes tightly in terror as he hugged his three tails, falling into the awaiting mouth of the wolf.

Thwish.

When the pain of getting ripped in half didn’t arrive as he expected, the cub peeked out of one of his eyes and found himself sitting on the wolf’s back. An arrow situated itself in the wolf’s side. Without much thought, the cub jumped on the wolf several times to revenge his poor heart.

Little did the fox know this scene looked especially comical with his loud sigh of relief, appearing too humane for an average animal.

Unable to hold his chuckles in, a young boy around the age of ten, with dark raven hair clutched his stomach and let out heartily laughs, the bow in his hand now forgotten on the ground. This successfully startled the relaxed cub.

Oh nononono! How long was this human standing here? If he found out my ability… that old hag is going to kill me! Wait… did he kill the wolf? Did he just save my life? Me? The beautiful and smart and…

“Hey.” The boy had to constrain himself from laughing again as he sensed the cub’s mind flying several hundred miles per second with his eyes growing to the size of two saucers. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you. In fact, I just saved your life.”

Wai- what does the fox say?

“Yip” The cub avoided the curious stare of the young boy before the latter hunched over in laughter again. “Hahahaha… ouch… my stomach hurts.” Taking a few seconds to compose himself, the boy wiped his tears and started again, “I’ve been standing here since your ‘London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down~’”

The cub raised his eyebrows unimpressively at the boy’s imitation of his singing. The boy grinned in response.

“Come on, I’m just trying to start a conversation here.” Seeing as the cub avoided his stares, the boy bravely hopped in front of the animal before it had time to react. Holding out his hand fearlessly, the boy shot the fox a toothy smile, “My name is Mingyu, what is yours?” Just as Mingyu was about to pull his hand back from the awkwardness hanging in the air, a paw was placed on top of it, accompanied with a small squeak, “Wonwoo”

“Hello Wonu! You’re so cool! I’ve never met a fox that could talk and has three tails!”

“It’s Wonwoo.”

“Wonu!”

“Won Woo”

“Won Woo”

“That’s right!”

“Ok, Wonu!”

Mingyu was bursting with excitement as Wonwoo felt heat travelling up to his furry cheeks.

Disguising his embarrassment with a cough, Wonwoo smirked at the young boy, “I am a magical being! But you can’t tell anyone about my existence or… or… I will… um… curse you! Yes, I will curse you!” Wonwoo waved his sharp claws convincingly. “Ok! But you have to play with me!”

Is this kid insane? Who would play with a talking fox with three tails who just threatened to curse him?

But upon looking at Mingyu’s heartfelt grin, with his canines in full display, Wonwoo couldn’t find it in his heart to say no. The old hag is going to kill me if she finds out…

They say time flies when you are having fun. This was exactly what happened to the two new friends. Mingyu and Wonwoo found themselves inseparable as they met up in the same spot over all of winter.

Mingyu showed Wonwoo different weapons and their uses in hunting, something about that being the specialty of Cheongyong followers. Wonwoo had no idea what that meant, but he didn’t pay much attention to it cause weapons were way cooler.

And ironically, Wonwoo showed Mingyu how to write and recite poetries. The animal teaching the human his own language. After Mingyu’s endless whining about it, Wonwoo transformed into his human form, a boy that appeared not much older than Mingyu, whenever he taught the younger.

Unknowingly, Wonwoo began to spend more time in his human form even when he wasn’t teaching Mingyu.

Wonwoo often lent his ears when Mingyu ranted on about his expectations and burdens. He loved the look on Mingyu’s face after he lets out all his worries and smiles with his canines.

The only complaint Wonwoo had about Mingyu was that he always called Wonwoo ‘Wonu’ instead. Wonwoo refuses to admit his love for the sound of his new nickname rolling off Mingyu’s bubbly voice.

As spring approaches the forest, Wonwoo sensed Seulgi’s power becoming more stable. He knew it was time to go back.

Wonwoo later told Mingyu his plans of leaving, to which Mingyu hugged him tightly. “But why?” Wonwoo could feel rather than hear the strangled sobs threatening to leave Mingyu’s throat. “I have someone I must return to, someone who I owe my life to.” Realising the serious tone in Wonwoo’s voice, Mingyu secured his hold on the fox boy before releasing him.

“Make a deal with me then!”

Wonwoo’s eyes widened as an image of an older man overlapped with Mingyu’s childish features “I propose that you make a deal with me.”

The image left as fast as it came, leaving Wonwoo flustered at the sudden interruption.

What was that?

“Wonu?” Seeing the confusion on Mingyu’s face, Wonwoo shook his head to ease his mind. “What’s the deal?”

Smiling the bright smile that Wonwoo came to love, Mingyu held out his left hand with his fingers all fisted except for his pinky, “We will meet again and the next time we meet, we will never separate again!” Blinking back tears of his own, Wonwoo mirrored Mingyu’s action and the two intertwined their pinky, “I, Wonwoo, promise to never leave you, Mingyu, the next time we meet.”

The two spent the rest of their day giggling over their cheesy actions and enjoying their last moments together. When it was time for them to depart, the best friends shared one last longing hug before Mingyu returned home.

“Wonwoo.” Wonwoo sensed Seulgi’s coming before she appeared in front of him. Wonwoo sighed inwardly in relief as he saw the colours that have returned to Seulgi’s face as opposed to her previous ghostly pale ones.

“Hey old hag, long time no see!” Wonwoo was greeted with a smack on the head.

“Wonwoo, we’re leaving for China”

“What?”

Wonwoo’s eyes grew alarmingly larger as he stared into Seulgi’s calm irises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“JEON WONWOO!” Wonwoo positioned his hands over his delicate ears just in time before Seulgi’s raging roar. Their neighbour, however, wasn’t as lucky, as grunts of annoyance can be heard through the wall.

“Do you have any last words?”

Wonwoo would have sighed in relief at the softer tone if he didn’t miss the flattened cat ears on Seulgi’s head and the murderous aura flowing out of her body. Especially the nine tails swaying dangerously behind her. “Look, old hag-“ The teenage boy hissed in pain as one of Seulgi’s offending tail retreated back to its original position from the back of Wonwoo’s head. “That’s mother to you, young man.”

“What kind of fox has a cat as a mum? That defies nature-“ Wonwoo hunched over in pain as Seulgi’s tail delivered a second blow.

“I just got a call from your principal,” Wonwoo gulped before Seulgi continued, “You have been expelled from EVERY high school in China.” Seulgi’s tone got increasingly darker as the conversation went on.

“They started it…” Wonwoo mumbled in defence. It really isn’t his fault that his body releases special hormones that attracts humans! It also really isn’t his fault that he has to beat up anyone, boys and girls, who dare to hit on him! It was all self-defence in Wonwoo’s opinion.

“It was self defence!” The boy grumbled a little louder, still avoiding the nine-tailed cat’s deadly glare.

Seulgi sighed before pulling Wonwoo into a loose hug, “I know, it’s hard.” Wonwoo’s body went stiff at the unexpected embrace as opposed to the usual yelling and smacking. He was about to question it when Seulgi suddenly voiced out, “Let’s move back to Korea.”

Just like seven years ago, by the time Wonwoo registered Seulgi’s words and gathered his mind together, he was already on a plane. The soothing voice of the flight attendant over the speakers reminding him that the plane has just arrived in Korea. Shrugging in defeat, Wonwoo watched as Seulgi halted their luggage from the conveyor belt and transferred them onto a cart.

Surrounded by the familiar yet foreign language, Wonwoo’s mind couldn’t help but wonder back to the young boy with his canine smile and their promise.

“Wonwoo, are you coming?” Seulgi’s bell like voice interrupted his train of thought and as he reverted his attention back to the older, he noticed the subtle glances from other passengers that were directed at him. Shivering from the attention, Wonwoo power walked towards Seulgi and took over the cart in her hands. “Yea…Yeah mum.” Seulgi smiled behind her hand at the flustered boy before shooting daggers at anyone who dared to peek at her son with ulterior motive.

Sighing in annoyance, Seulgi muttered under her breath, “I told you to master the control of your hormones like me.”

Getting away from the awkward glances, Wonwoo stretched out his lanky limbs as he exited the airport. The soft breeze that graced his silver locks brought a smile onto Wonwoo’s face.

I’m back in Korea. Mingyu.

In his contentment, Wonwoo failed to notice Seulgi’s hesitant steps and the colours draining from her face.

Seulgi took a deep breath in attempt to ignore the burning ache from her chest.

The wailing of the remnant half of her heart.

I’m back… Korea.

Supressing the hellish memory that threatens to resurface, Seulgi and Wonwoo left the airport with contrasting feelings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A loud rumble echoed off the freshly painted walls of Wonwoo’s new room. The said boy resting with his face planted on his pillow sat up abruptly and clutched his stomach.

“Really? I just fed you an hour ago!” Wonwoo jabbed his stomach in disbelief. “Well, I guess I am a growing bo- fox.”

Reaching for his wallet and phone, the teenager threw on a simple jacket and his favourite beanie with ‘W.W’ proudly in display. He quickly covered his silver mob with the black beanie and picked up a pair of glasses to disguise his unnaturally green eyes.

Wonwoo tipped toed his way out of his room, turning his head a few times to check for Seulgi’s ghostly appearance. When he confirmed that the coast was indeed clear, Wonwoo rushed out of their new house.

“If old hag knew I was heading out, she would complain about the hormone controlling technique again.”

Wonwoo was a smart boy. He easily mastered any new things that Seulgi taught him. Ranging from school subjects to healing magic, Jeon Wonwoo was what people called a genius. The only thing that he couldn’t grasp was the control of his special hormones. Who knows why.

Completely disregarding the nine-tailed cat’s warning, Wonwoo headed towards the closest convenience store for his favourite ramyun.

The trip to the convenience store was surprisingly easy, Wonwoo found what he wanted and tried to leave as soon as possible after paying, in case Seulgi went to check on him.

Just like the calm before a storm, peace was interrupted when Wonwoo accidentally ran into someone on his way out. “Sorry!” Wonwoo bowed respectfully at the masculine male in front of him. The frown on the stranger’s face disappeared when he saw Wonwoo’s face and was instead replaced with a smirk.

Uh oh. Curse you, hormones!

Attempting to avoid getting into trouble on his first night in Korea, Seulgi would kill me! Wonwoo bowed one last time before running out of the store. Unluckily for Wonwoo, his wrist was pulled back by a strong force and his back thumped against the masculine stranger’s chest. “What’s the rush cutie? Let’s have some fun.”

“Sorry, I need to hurry home, my mum’s waiting!” Wonwoo tried to mask his annoyance through laughing awkwardly as he pulled his wrist out of the stranger’s hold. The man strengthened his hold on Wonwoo and pulled him towards a seemingly deserted alleyway.

You messed with the wrong fox.

Sighing, Wonwoo allowed himself to be relocated, only struggling weakly for show.

Guess I’ll just have to do this quickly and go home before Seulgi notices. Wonwoo nodded at his own genius plan. Mistaking it as a sign of fear, the man halted in the middle of the dark alleyway and shot Wonwoo a ‘what-he-thinks-looks-like-a-gentle-smile’ expression. Wonwoo nearly threw up at the sight of the greasy lips and stained teeth.

“Don’t worry cutie, I will treat you well.” Wonwoo rolled his eyes and secretly cheered as the man’s macho body blocked the entrance of the alleyway, so even if Wonwoo were to beat him up, no one would witness it.

As if trying to prove a point, Wonwoo let his mischievous nature take over and feigned a few half hearted “help” and “save me”. The stranger feeling overconfident at Wonwoo’s response let out a stream of low cackles, “Scream all you want, but no one will come and save you.” This is so cliché and cheesy. Wonwoo had to resist the urge to click his tongue and just punch the guy into oblivion.

As the man launched at Wonwoo, the fox jumped sideways, affectively avoiding the man’s advances. After a few rounds of launching and avoiding, the man grew increasingly impatient. He growled and ran towards Wonwoo with full force. Wanting to end the game, Wonwoo got into position and was about to send the guy flying.

Instead the offending man received a blow from behind and fell towards Wonwoo instead. The fox who didn’t expect for this to happen had no time to react before the man collapsed on him.

“Ouch!” Wonwoo’s head came into contact with the ground and stars were swimming in his vision.

When the dead weight of the masculine figure was finally removed from him, Wonwoo’s eyes came into contact with an extremely tall silhouette.

The new comer’s ice blue eyes pierced into Wonwoo’s softer emerald eyes, before scoffing at the ‘victim’s’ position. “As expected, a girly scream from a girly guy.” Wonwoo’s mouth slacked in shock and was left hanging open. “Flies are going to get in.” Came the next insult, along with a sexy up curve of the new comer’s lip, with his canines in display. The poor fox didn’t come to his senses until his ‘saviour’ has gotten up and left.

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?”

People walking near the alleyway were surprised by the sudden outburst, but when they peeked into the dark path, there was a brawny male knocked out on the ground. With foxes drawn all over his face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Squeaaaaak. Wonwoo tried his best to open the front door softly and slid in before closing it quietly. “Who does that bastard think he is, how dare he insult the oh so great eight tailed fox!” Wonwoo muttered under his breath as he made his way into the living room.

He suddenly paused and strained his neck to a ninety degrees angle.

Oh shit.

He was met with Seulgi’s famous smile, each of her tails in standby waiting for a chance to strike. “Wonwoo,” came the voice of Satan, “Who is this bastard you speak of? Were you outside?” Wonwoo visibly gulped and shook his head violently. “Why do I smell a human’s scent on you then?”

In situations like this… I have to use my ultimate technique!

POOF!

Seulgi sighed as a fox with eight tails replaced Wonwoo in his original position. The fox stared up at Seulgi with glossy eyes, its paws neatly folded in front of its body, accompanied with a soft whine.

“Wonwoo, you know you can’t act cute to get your way out of this.” The fox whined in a higher pitch in reply. Pinching her nose in defeat, Seulgi picked the fox up by the back of his neck, who immediately wrapped his eight tails around Seulgi.

Works every time. Wonwoo secretly did a peace sign.

Placing Wonwoo in her lap as she took a seat on the sofa, Seulgi gently patted his back. “You never listen, do you?” Wonwoo, who is now in fox form, made a noise of disagreement from the back of his throat. “Just don’t cause any trouble at school tomorrow!” adding pressure onto the fox’s back, Seulgi added. A sleepy “Kay~” followed by a soft yawn was his reply.

“Wonwoo, listen here, the school you’re going to tomorrow is special. It’s a school where followers of the four sectors are mixed in with normal students.”

“What are the four sectors?” Another yawn.

Sighing, “I’ve told you this before Wonwoo.” Seulgi stroke the fur behind the fox’s ears.

“The four sectors originated from the war era. One day, the Devil suddenly attacked God for reasons unknown to anyone, breaking their peace treaty. Heaven and hell broke lose as the war ventured on. Destroyed homelands, broken up family, crushed dreams. It was like the second coming had found its way on Earth.

When everything seemed hopeless for the humans, four beast guardians emerged. No one knows where they originated from, but the beasts worked together and sealed God into the sky and the Devil into the earth, successfully seizing the war.

To control the damage from the war, each guardian gathered a group of humans and educated them on the different ways to survive and live together.

Qirin, the beast in the form of a unicorn, taught humans the skills of healing.

Cheongyong the dragon, excelled in sword and weapons and therefore its followers mastered in weaponry.

Hyungmu taught the different forms of martial arts. To this day, its followers are still worshipping the turtle statues made in its honour.

The last one… Jujak, a phoenix with the power of sorcery. Its followers are known for their power to look into the future.

When peace was finally obtained and humans started to work together, the beast guardians disappeared and-“

A loud snore from Seulgi’s lap interrupted her from continuing. Seulgi looked down to see Wonwoo’s furry little head drooping onto her knee and little puffs of air appeared as the little fox breathed in and out. The sight of Wonwoo resting safe and soundly in her lap reminded Seulgi of when she first saw him.

The fragile form curling into a ball from the harsh winter storm, limbs trembling and lips turning purple. Wonwoo was on the verge of death when she saved him.

Just like her, he was fragile.

But unlike her, Wonwoo never experienced the pain of getting half of his heart ripped out.

She trusted ‘him’. ‘He’ betrayed her trust.

Her punishment was half of her heart.

Clutching her left chest where it used to be, Seulgi closed her eyes as the painful memories washed over her.


End file.
